Harness: Regional plan to return to racing

When it comes to COVID-19, at least in New York where six Standardbred tracks would be open by next weekend, we have a mixed bag when it comes to the numbers. The recent trend is very positive, but the death toll and number of hospitalizations are still so high that it is hard to be excited that we will return to "normal" anytime soon.

Recent indications from Governor Andrew Cuomo provide hope that some more northern tracks in the state may be able to open by the end of May. Other locations are clearly looking at mid-June or later.

Regardless of what state a track is located, in order to return to racing, certain safeguards will need to be in place. There are, of course, the logical guidelines of masks and social distancing. But there is potentially more that can be done which could convince various governmental agencies that the sport is taking COVID-19 seriously and deserve to be open sooner rather than later.

Using the New York area as an example (this could work elsewhere as well), I recommend a regional approach for a return to racing. Let’s say Buffalo and Saratoga open in New York (I didn’t choose Tioga or Vernon because management has already said they won't open without the casino being operational), Meadowlands opens in New Jersey, Pocono in Pennsylvania and Harrington in Delaware. We now have five tracks, each separated by at least 120 miles, which are racing.

Here's where the meat and potatoes of the plan come in. Every driver and trainer must choose a track. Once your selection is made, you cannot switch until at least June 22 (a reasonable date when restrictions could be more lax). Therefore, each person must choose where they plan to race and stay put. These restrictions will limit the exposure of the virus from track-to-track should someone get infected. There will be no risk of a shutdown at Meadowlands if a Pocono horseman gets COVID-19 because there (in theory) would be no contact between the participants at the two tracks.

Where did the idea come from? From Governor Cuomo. He made it clear at a recent press conference that a major concern was too many people from one area invading another portion of the State that was "opened for business" because they wanted to use services that were unavailable where they lived. That’s when it hit me. The answer is to keep everyone at a distance to reduce the risk of one person potentially spreading the virus to other areas.

Of course, there needs to be plenty of cooperation for this plan to work. Tracks must work with trainers to offer conditions that will get their entire barns raced. Enough drivers have to show up at each track. Each track will need a certain number of horses and a trainer may need to go to their second choice of tracks to make the situation work.

The bottom line is that the above plan clearly says to State officials that we are taking this very seriously as an industry. We are working together to get everyone back to work as quickly as possible. It may not be the ideal situation and it is certainly far from the old “normal” that everyone is accustomed to, but it is a step in the right direction . . . a temporary solution to get horses, drivers, trainers, caretakers, chart-callers, Judges, racing officials, and more back to where they belong – at the track.